Tyndale Open Study NotesJohn 2

Jesus showed who he is and what he came to do through the religious practices and festivals of the Jewish people (see 2:1; 5:1). He used these familiar events to reveal his identity and his mission.

In this section, Jesus appeared at two symbolic Jewish ceremonies. At a wedding in Cana (2:1–12), he replaced the ritual cleansing water with his own superior wine. Later, around Passover, he cleansed the temple (2:13–25).

Wedding ceremonies could last up to a week. They often included dramatic parades where the husband brought the bride to his home for the celebrations (Matthew 25:1–13).

• When the wine supply ran out, the host’s family would face embarrassment for failure to plan properly. Perhaps Jesus arrived unexpectedly with his disciples (see Matthew 25:1–13). This might explain why his mother told him about the problem.

• A wedding feast was a major celebration in Jewish village life. This particular event also symbolized the joy of the Messiah's arrival.

• At first, Jesus did not step in to solve the problem. His mission and its timing were not controlled by human plans.

• My hour has not yet come: This refers to the time when Jesus would be glorified. In the Gospel of John, this happened when he was lifted up on the cross (12:23; 17:1).

The stone water jars were cut from solid rock. They were used for Jewish purification ceremonies (religious washing rituals; see Mark 7:1–4).

Jesus was about to give new meaning to these ceremonies. He would show that something greater than ritual washing was now present.

The master of the banquet repeated a common saying. Normally, the best wine was served first, when people could taste it most clearly. Later, wine of lower quality was served.

But this time it was different. The wine Jesus made, served last, was the best of all.

In the Old Testament, good wine was a sign of God’s blessing(Amos 9:13–14). This miracle showed that the Messiah, God’s greatest blessing, had now come.

Jesus performed this, the first of His signs: In it, he revealed the glory of God (see also 1:14; 11:4, 40).

The Jewish Passover was an annual spring feast remembering Israel’s rescue from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12). Jews traveled to Jerusalem to join the feast (Deuteronomy 16:1–16). Because John refers to three Passover feasts (John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55), many scholars think Jesus must have had a three-year public ministry.

• Many people came to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. They needed animals that met the requirements for sacrifice. The animals had to be approved for worship.

  Because of this need, a large business developed. People sold animals and exchanged money for the right kind of coins. However, this buying and selling was taking place in the temple itself.

  Jesus acted like a prophet. He demanded that God’s house return to its true purpose. The temple was meant for worship, prayer, teaching, and sacrifice. It was not meant to be a marketplace. This action brought Jesus into conflict with the temple leaders.

• The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) place the clearing out of the temple near the end of the ministry of Jesus (Matthew 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17; Luke 19:45–46). John might have included this event earlier to emphasize its connection to the miracle where Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1–11). Both the temple and the stone jars of water were instruments for spiritual purity in Judaism. The jars, once filled with water for ceremonial washing, now held the wine Jesus changed by a miracle.

  In a similar way, the stone temple, which was linked to sacrifice and purification, would no longer be central. Jesus himself would take its place (2:19–21).

  Some scholars believe that Jesus cleansed the temple twice. They think he did this once at the beginning of his ministry and again at the end.

Destroy this temple: Herod the Great started rebuilding the temple's grand structure in 20 BC. The work continued until AD 64. This is why Jesus amazed his audience when he claimed he could destroy and rebuild it in a few days.

However, Jesus was speaking figuratively (using a word picture) about his own body. He described his body as the true temple, the place where God was present (see 1:14, 51).

His body would be destroyed. Three days later, God would raise him from the dead. Through his resurrection, Jesus showed that he himself was now the true place where people meet God. Because of this, the Jerusalem Temple and its sacrifices were no longer necessary.

Later, during the trial of Jesus, some people misunderstood his words. They used his statement about destroying the temple as evidence against him. They accused him of blasphemy (Mark 14:58).

they believed: Seeing a miracle from God can lead people to believe. However, this kind of belief is not the deepest faith. The deepest faith trusts Jesus even without seeing miracles (20:29).

John uses a play on words here. Because of Jesus’s signs (miracles that show who he is), many people trusted in him (2:23). But Jesus did not trust them in the same way.

This statement does not refer only to certain people in Jerusalem. It shows that Jesus knows what is inside every person. He understands people’s thoughts, motives (reasons for acting), and desires.